The Streamliner Special is an exclusive roundtrip excursion from the new Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility (CRIF) to the North Carolina Transportation Museum (NCTM) in Spencer, N.C. Reserver your seat to ride aboard one of two day trips, offered during the historic Streamliners at Spencer festival, a gathering of historic streamlined locomotives from the 1930s through the 1950s.

Bringing together the past and future of rail

The Streamliner Special excursions are made possible through the generous support of Norfolk Southern Corporation, by allowing access to the newly-opened Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility and use of their rail lines, as well as through the generosity of railroad enthusiast Bennett Levin, owner and operator of the Juniata Terminal Company, by providing the train set.
Our train set reflects the romantic history of passenger rail travel, while our boarding location embodies the future of freight transport by rail.

Enjoy the ride….

Experience a trip you won’t soon forget, aboard the private varnish Streamliner Special. Two chartered trips will be offered on May 30 and May 31, providing a rare opportunity to visit the new Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility, then travel aboard one of four private business class cars through North Carolina’s Piedmont Region to the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer.

This unique excursion departs the Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility at 1 p.m. for both trips and returns at 7 p.m. The Streamliner Special will be powered by two historic streamlined locomotives with four beautifully restored business and lounge cars.

Be attended to by gracious stewards offering first-class white glove service on board, with heavy hors d’oeuvres, beer and wine. Take home a special souvenir gift tote with a commemorative route guide and, of course, enjoy good company to make the journey memorable.

Tickets for this rare experience are $1,000 per person, with proceeds benefitting the North Carolina Transportation Museum Foundation.
Funds raised will help us restore and preserve historic rail equipment and facilities, as well as operate our regular on-site train ride, which is, for many of our visitors, their first experience riding a train. The estimated fair market value of your ticket is $250, with $750 of the ticket price eligible as a tax deductible donation to the extent provided by law.

…and the destination.

Your journey aboard the Streamliner Special includes a three-hour layover at the North Carolina Transportation Museum, amidst the excitement of the Streamliners at Spencer celebration. Streamliners at Spencer is a gathering of classic streamlined locomotives (also known as cab units) from the 1930s through 1950s. With an anticipated engine count of 20 or more locomotives representing at least a dozen historic railroads, it is expected to be the largest gathering of these locomotives since their heyday.

While in Spencer, you’ll have the opportunity to enjoy Streamliner festivities and tour museum exhibits. This expansive 57-acre site was once Southern Railway’s repair hub for steam locomotives traveling between Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. With a dozen historic structures still standing, the Museum boasts more than 80,000 square feet of exhibit space, filled to the brim with locomotives, cabooses, freight cars, passenger cars, rare antique automobiles and one-of-a-kind aviation artifacts.

The Streamliner Special Train Set

Powering the Streamliner Special will be the Pennsylvania Railroad 5711 and 5809 locomotives. These 1950s-era streamliners represent two-thirds of the original Conrail Office Car Special locomotive fleet.
The train set will include four business class or parlor cars, including the notable Pennsylvania Railroad No. 120 business car. Built in 1928, this historic car has carried a number of well-known passengers, including President John F. Kennedy and his family, the Duke and Dutchess of Windsor, and Prince Charles and his wife. In a more somber moment, the car was used to transport the body of Robert F. Kennedy to its burial at Arlington National Cemetery.
The Warrior Ridge No. 1157, originally built in 1953 for Southern Pacific’s “Sunset Limited,” was rebuilt in 2002 at the Juniata Terminal Company’s shops and converted into a parlor-lounge-buffet car. The car is named after a small town in central Pennsylvania, located 206 miles west of Philadelphia along the original route of the Pennsylvania Railroad.
The Greenwich Harbor was built in 1952 as a first class parlor car for the Pennsylvania Railroad’s “Senator” train between Boston and Washington, D.C. The car, now owned and restored by Railway Entertainment Services, features a dining area with table seating as well as section with traditional passenger seating.
The Greenwich Estate car also features both a dining and passenger section, and is also owned and operated by Railway Entertainment Services.

About the Charlotte Regional Intermodal Facility

Fifteen years in the making, Norfolk Southern’s newly-opened intermodal yard promises to be a catalyst for economic development in the region by providing for the efficient movement of freight between multiple modes of transportation.
Strategically located between the runways at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the 200-acre facility opened in December, replacing a 40-acre site located near uptown Charlotte. More than 10 miles of tracks extend between the two western-most north-south runways.
The transfer facility itself, which transfers shipping containers between trucks and trains, sits 40 feet below two taxiway bridges, and has the capacity to lift 200,000 containers per year. That capacity is expected to eventually grow to 600,000 containers annually.